Playlist: The Great Escape 2014 – Andy’s Must Sees

As well as the CMU Insights-programmed convention section, The Great Escape festival also plays host to over 400 bands during its three days. That’s a lot to be getting on with, so we asked CMU Editor Andy Malt to pick ten acts he’s looking forward to seeing this year for this playlist.

Says Andy: “I’m so excited about The Great Escape this year. The convention is looking great, and there are so many bands on the line-up that I want to see. It was really hard to cut this list down to just ten – I could have gone on and on. If I only saw these ten artists over the three days though, I reckon that would make for a pretty brilliant few days”.

Listen to Andy’s playlist on Spotify here, or in the YouTube player below, and then read on to find out more about his choices.

01 Emilie Nicolas – Pstereo
The new artist I’m most excited about this year, Emilie Nicolas, is already fending off labels left, right and centre. Her recorded output so far is a small but perfectly formed collection of pop songs, even at the demo stage sounding like someone who could be around for a long time to come. Be sure you can say you saw her back at the start.

02 Tove Lo – Habits
One of the artists everyone’s already talking about before we even get started, rising Swedish pop singer Tove Lo is probably already on your list of people to see. And, if not, mark her down now. Having recently released her debut EP, her dark-edged pop, as showcased on her recently-released debut EP, is something well worth throwing yourself into.

03 Pearls Negras – Pensando Em Você
It’s really exciting to see this Brazilian teen rap trio on the bill for TGE this year. Releasing their debut mixtape, ‘Biggie Apple’, at the tail end of last year, they deliver an angry concoction of English and Portuguese lyrics, designed to give an insight into what it’s like growing up in one of Rio De Janeiro’s poorest areas.

04 Anna Meredith – Nautilus
In what I guess you’d call her day job as a classical composer, Anna Meredith has had work performed at the BBC Proms and written an opera, amongst other things. But she leads an exciting double life making electronic music, which is what brings her to TGE and should bring you to her show.

05 Girl Band – Lawman
Since 2012, Dublin four-piece Girl Band have put out a small but consistently good collection of punky singles and EPs. More recently, their latest material seems to have been influenced more by their own cover of techno producer Blawan’s ‘Why They Hide Their Bodies Under My Garage?’, eight minutes of grinding guitar beneath a deadpan take on the track’s original vocals.

06 Deathcrush – Fun
At another showcase festival earlier this year, I watched Deathcrush’s set through a window because I arrived too late to beat the rush to fill the venue they were playing. Don’t make this mistake at TGE, because their mix of skate punk with a bit of black metal is one of the most exciting things you’re likely to see this weekend.

07 Buffalo Daughter – Volcanic Girl
Formed in the early 90s, it’s well over a decade since Japanese trio Buffalo Daughter last played in the UK. Mixing indie-rock, shoegaze and electronic music influences to create a distinct sound, it’s great to finally have them back to hear some new music from their forthcoming seventh album.

08 Jaakko Eino Kalevi – No End
Signed to Domino’s Weird World label, Finnish solo artist Jaakko Eino Kalevi makes understated pop music that has been quietly grabbing attention over the last six months or so. He’s also one of the most charming live performers I’ve seen in a long time, so completely without ego his shows feel like he’s half expecting everyone else in the room to get up and have a go at singing a few songs too.

09 Blue Daisy – Psychotic Love
Blue Daisy, aka producer Kwesi Darko, has been pretty prolific in the last twelve months, putting out music with various collaborations in 2013. But he kicked off 2014 with a solo release, the brilliant ‘Psychotic Love’ EP, a dark journey through warped hip hop.

10 Labyrinth Ear – Crescent Moon
Electronic duo Labyrinth Ear released their debut album, ‘The Orchid Room’, in April. The pair make ghostly dance music, with elaborate lyrics painting stories over music that echoes late 80s house, sounding like a future description of music from the past.

Want more? You can also check out a TGE playlist from CMU Staff Writer Aly Barchi here.